Wichita eagle., 1887-08-18
DRY PRESSED BRICK
Made OF Pulverized Clay as Dry
and as Fine as Flour.
Plantrin Operation and Backed by q
Company Of $4,000 Clay Pro
nounced Good.

| OF the same. IL ulQ uOt Jake nlm long u
observe after reaching the metropolis of the
south west that many thousands of brich
| were,being used daily with a good show TO,
| the demand to increase He also observed
that many of the fine brick were shipped from
his city to Wichita and that the demand was
increasing, especially in the line of pressed
brick. 1t occurred to him thatif clay suited
to pressed brick making could be secured
near this city it would not only be great
find for the company operating the plant
but also for the city itself.
Having arrived at the above conclusion be
commenced a vigorous hunt for the
clay. He revealed his scheme to
MI. j. F. Sherman and some other
still hunt was commenced. At the moment
the task was about to be given up thinking
that no suitable clay could be found, the
clouds broke away and they were able to ex-
claim Eureka" 1t was not sure until a
thorough test was made. The test was made
and the clay a. decided by them was not
found wanting in any particular.
The clay being found a company was
organized styled the Wichita Pressed and
Or namental Brick Company with a capital
stock of $4,000 Mr.. J. g. Girding the
starter of the movement was elected presi-
dent; W. E. Beattie vice president; j. F.
S Sherman secretary and treasurer. The di-
rectory consists Of the officers as given above
and Messrs. L. F. Gerding of St. Louis and
H. W. Coulter.
The clay found is on the Brad
shaw farm near four miles south
east of the corner Of Main street and Doug
las avenue near the corner Of Hillside avenue
and Harry street. The vein extends over an
feet deep. 1t is covered with a layer of soil
near three feet deep. The clay find is suffi-
cient in the estimation of Mr.. Gerdipg to
keep the plant going at full capacity for
twenty years. The plant is located on the
west side Of the area Of clay
and the clay can all be worked easily to the
plant. The soil is stripped off the clay and
then the disk harrow is introduced which
pulverizes it. 1t is then ''winrowed" and
placed in wagons and put in clay sheds. 1t is
there allowed to remain for ninety days and
in the nomenclature Of the business under
goes 'sweat" which makes it suitable for
use. In the dry sheds now there is enough
stock to make one and a half millions of
brick.
The boiler furnishing all the steam for the
- o.<~l,%x
seventy-five horse power engine. The en-
CINE is of the very latest patent and is SO
regulated as to make it especially suited for
the use of the plant.
The Ross patent brick machine is
used with capacity of $4,000
brick working twenty hours. 1t was started
running Tuesday last and in one hour yester-
day turned out 2, 500 brick. 1t is giving COM
plete salts action, the clay being even better
SD tied to that sort of plant than first ex-
pected. Just as soon as the present machine
gets in good running condition another ma
chine of the same patent and capacity will be
added to the plant giving daily capacity of
one hundred thousand brick per day. The
second machine has already been ordered be-
lieving that the company would be ready
for it by the time it arrives.
The present income of orders has made it
very suspicious on the part of the company
that the plant will be run both day and
night with only short recesses, making in the
twenty -four hours run of twenty hours. The
cost of the plant when completed will not be
less than $4,000
The machine was put in running order and
is being superintended by Mr.. II. H. Keller,
who is vice president of the Eureka Brick
Machine company, of st. Louis. Mr. Keller
is one of the inventors of the machine, and in
fact to him it seems that most of the credit
is due, as some ideas which he in
troduced has made the machine much
more successful than when first put to the
test The machine has been used for five
years and it is the first dry pressed brick
machine to be init oduced to Wichita.
The clay is taken from the clay shed and
run through the Steadman crusher which
elevated automatically and spouted to the
machine. The puleerized clay is fed
into the machine automatically and
brick delivered on the table, from which
they are removed by bearers and conveyed
direct to the kiln ready for burning The
brick are very compact, being subjected to
pressure that requires more clay for each
brick than it does for some other pro-
cesses. Each brick is subjected to pres
sure of fifty to sixty tons. The clay is not
moist but on the other hand is made ga dry
as possible 1t contains as a rule about
twelve per cent of moisture which is near the
same as that carried by -four. The machine
works by positive movement and is so con-
structed that the wear can be taken up read
ly. The brick is pressed by two togle joints
working in contrary directions gaining
their movement from eccentrics.
The entire machine weighs near
&c, GOO pounds and is thought to be construct
I'd simple and in a powerful manner. One
Of the features pronounced commendable is
that it can be operated by any ordinary man
after few days experience.
Another feature which is pronounced an
advantage by many is that the plant can be
run through the entire year. The cold or
heat will have nothing to do in inn
peadlng work. The manufacturing
company has over one hundred OF their
machines in operation. One recent improve
ment in the machine is the manner in which
the pressure is regulated. Itgives the mach
inc the ability to work Claws at different de-
grees OF moisture and also makes a more
solid brick, finer corners and edges and pre-
vents checking or springipg.